Adani clears Qld Land Court challenge

Indian mining giant Adani is one step closer to building Australia's biggest coal mine after Queensland's Land Court rejected a legal challenge brought by environmentalists.

Lobby group Coast and Country had objected to Adani's $16.5 billion Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin on environmental, ecological and economic grounds.

But that was rejected in Brisbane on Tuesday, with the court finding mining leases should be granted, albeit with tightened environmental conditions.

The conditions relate to a local endangered species, the black-throated finch, which the environmentalists had argued would be significantly affected by the mine's construction.

In her reasons, President Carmel MacDonald stipulated a series of tightened measures to protect and monitor the finch and noted the existing environmental impact statement didn't adequately appreciate how critically its population could be impacted by the mine.

But Coast and Country spokesman Derec Davies said the decision would "pave the way" for the destruction of some of Queensland's most beautiful ecosystems.

"Days after a binding international climate agreement, here we see an Indian mining company seeking to develop a massive coal mine that will have devastating impacts on ... the world and future generations," he said.

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He called on Environment Minister Steven Miles to reject the project, which is expected to generate 60 million tonnes of coal per annum over a 60-year lifetime.

The group had also brought climate change concerns to the court, claiming the mine would have "severe and permanent" adverse impacts on the environment and dispense direct and indirect greenhouse gases.

However, President MacDonald agreed with the argument that should the mine be halted, alternative emissions-generating coal projects would simply crop up somewhere else to meet global demand.

Mr Davies said this was equivalent to "drug dealer" logic, in which someone negates responsibility by claiming a victim would source their substances elsewhere.

A distinct legal action brought to the Federal Court by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) regarding Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt's approval was also ongoing, she noted.

But Adani itself said the decision was the result of "thorough, science and evidence-based work" done by the company and its partners.

"Adani welcomes the decision, which recognises the pivotal role the resources sector plays in Queensland, subject to strict regulations (and serves) as yet another repudiation of politically motivated, activist-driven legal challenges," a statement read.

The Queensland Resources Council also welcomed the decision while slamming Coast and Country as "serial abusers" of the court system.